Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Han River Recapture (2)
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All the bridges over the Han River had collapsed.
Although the guilds had partially restored them upon their return, they collapsed again in the recent incident.
While restoring them was a priority,
“So many gates…”
[What a mess. A total mess.]
Looking at the surroundings, the conditions were far from suitable for repairing the bridges.
“That way is next! Move to Gate 3!”
“Move out!”
“Don’t let the monsters reach the residential areas!”
Kim Hyo-jong quickly assessed the situation, and the players, led by Choi Dae-han, repelled the monsters pouring out of the gates.
Just as expected of ‘Hawk’s Eye.’
His ability to detect the stirrings of a gate and issue orders was exceptional.
Then again, he did use that to compensate for his slightly lacking physical abilities.
“Hyung! We should help them, quickly!”
“Wait a moment. There’s something I need to figure out.”
Before long, the monsters that had poured out of one gate were dealt with, and it was the next gate’s turn.
Kim Hyo-jong’s eyes glinted as he tried to find which gate would be next.
Next… is it that one?
“Number 6.”
“Gate 6! Get ready!”
Almost simultaneously with my murmur, Kim Hyo-jong shouted.
Correct.
Jo Min-ah’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“It’s a pattern. They seemed to be appearing in a fixed sequence. There were no cases of them coming from the same gate consecutively, nor did they skip one. I thought they might be alternating in a regular pattern, and it seems I was right.”
“So that’s why you told us to wait for a bit…”
Jo Min-woo gave me a thumbs-up.
Numbering the gates arranged in a circle counterclockwise, the sequence was 4-1-3-6-5-2-7.
The order changes every time you play the game, so observation is essential.
And only by knowing this can you determine the order of attack.
“Alright. Let’s join in now.”
“To Gate 6?”
“No, Gate 5.”
Gate 6 was nearly finished, thanks to the onslaught from the two guilds.
It would be over by the time we got there, so it was the right call to head to where the next one would begin.
“Ugh…!”
“Kim Hyo-jong, are you alright!?”
“I’m fine. For now…”
‘Hawk’s Eye’ consumed a lot of mental energy.
It wasn't just Hawk’s Eye; most eye-related abilities were like that.
It really drove home what a huge advantage my Extreme Eye was, as it barely consumed anything other than mana.
As time went on, ‘Watcher Beyond the Screen’ alone made me realize why my unique ability was EX-rank.
“More importantly, they’re coming again. The next one is…!”
“Gate 5.”
“Kim Se-hyeon!?”
“You!?”
I swung my sword as I passed the two guild masters.
The body of a bipedal, alligator-like monster that had just emerged from the gate was split in two, and a wave of blue flames immediately engulfed the gate behind it.
“How did you get here!? I was sure you would’ve gone straight to Busan! They’ve probably already departed from there.”
“Busan is important, but I judged this place to be important as well. If this place falls, all of Seoul is in danger. Above all, the Han River is the spine of Seoul. I can catch up to the Busan group one way or another.”
Watching Jo Min-woo beat down monsters with his flame-wreathed fists and legs put my mind at ease a little.
Still, it looked like his control over the flames wasn't completely terrible.
Kim Hyo-jong approached, his face weary.
“How did you know they would come from Gate 5?”
“I have similar eyes.”
“I see. That will lessen the burden a bit.”
Kim Hyo-jong let out a sigh.
He seemed much less hostile than before.
It seemed the events of the Disaster of Defiance had a positive effect.
He was foul-mouthed and not exactly pleasant, but his goal of protecting people was firm.
After all the heroics I’d been pulling everywhere, it would be disappointing if he hadn’t changed.
“Come to think of it, the Donghae Guild is always at the forefront of things like this.”
“That’s what the guild was made for in the first place. It started out as something like a town watch, but one by one, those we helped wanted to join in, and before we knew it, it became like this. That’s probably why everyone has such a strong sense of duty.”
“Too much enthusiasm can also be a problem. Old man, you should take it easy at your age, you know?”
“Hmph, listen to the way you talk. You brat, have you still not learned to respect your elders?!”
“That’s why I said it, out of concern for your physical well-being. Besides, weren't you the one who told me not to treat you like an old man because you aren't one yet?”
“This punk never lets me get a word in.”
*Fwoosh!*
The strike Choi Dae-han unleashed hammered the empty air.
But the shockwave from it caused the bodies of the monsters in that direction to explode in a shower of blood.
Was that the Naegachungsu Method?
That would be useful to learn.
No. It would be most efficient to have Jo Min-woo learn it.
“It’s good that we have powerful reinforcements, but it doesn’t seem to change the situation.”
“We won’t get anywhere unless we close the gates first.”
“Who doesn’t know that? The problem is we can’t even get inside. It’s all we can do to stop them as they come out… huh? Wait a minute.”
Kim Hyo-jong, who had been frowning, focused his gaze on me.
“You can go.”
“Right. There’s that option.”
Choi Dae-han chimed in.
That was my plan all along, so I was grateful they suggested it first.
“Then I’ll enter Gate 5 immediately. Min-ah, Min-woo. Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Once all the monsters are defeated, a gate becomes inaccessible.
In other words, you can only enter a gate while monsters are still emerging from it.
It was about time for the next gate to activate, so the timing was perfect.
*Zzzt.*
Immediately after a faint tingling sensation, like static electricity, cold water enveloped my entire body.
We had entered some body of water.
The startled twins puckered their lips, trying to hold their breath.
“You have that thing I told you to prepare, right? Put it in your mouth, then you can talk.”
“Huh? It’s true? Wow, I’m talking underwater! Can you see this!?”
“I can see, so be quiet. The monsters are looking this way.”
Only then did Jo Min-woo shut his mouth.
Though he’d already drawn all the aggro.
As a shark-like monster slowly approached, Jo Min-ah glared at Jo Min-woo.
‘Sawsharks were about C-rank, I think.’
Teeth that could crush steel.
A swimming speed of 80 km/h.
And a size of just over 2 meters.
As land creatures, humans were not accustomed to underwater combat, making them tricky opponents that could even overwhelm B-rank players.
‘Though it’s no big deal for me.’
It would be different for the twins.
They were already showing clear signs of tension.
No, was it only Jo Min-ah who was tense?
Jo Min-woo had a confident look on his face, beckoning with his hand.
A moderate amount of confidence is good, but confidence without a proper assessment of one’s situation is just arrogance.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’
*Whoosh!*
A Sawshark suddenly opened its jaws wide and charged.
Jo Min-woo’s eyes widened as he cockily tried to throw a punch.
He was flustered that his flames didn't appear as usual.
“Ah, right. Underwater… Whoa!”
He dodged by a hair’s breadth.
I glanced at Jo Min-ah, who was shaking her head as if to say he was hopeless.
“You idiot. How can you use fire underwater? That should have been the first thing you thought of.”
“Hmph, I don’t need it anyway. I was just caught off guard.”
Jo Min-woo cracked his neck a few times and readjusted his balance.
He couldn't use fire underwater, so he was going to take down the Sawshark with his body alone?
I considered offering advice but decided to watch for now.
“Hmph!”
*Thwack!*
After dodging another charging Sawshark, he instantly grabbed its tail fin and struck its side.
I was slightly impressed.
His judgment and method weren’t bad.
The impact was reduced because it was underwater; on land, that single blow would have knocked the Sawshark out.
“Still standing? Then take a few more!”
“Behind you! There’s another one coming from behind!”
“You handle that one!”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Jo Min-ah pondered for a moment, then stretched out her hand.
Even with blue flames, it wouldn't be easy for her to manifest them in the extreme environment of water, given her low proficiency.
“Shaaak!”
‘Hm?’
For some reason, the Sawsharks that looked ready to pincer attack Jo Min-woo hesitated to approach further.
Hoh. So she applied her flames in this way?
Her application skills were outstanding.
“The idea of rapidly raising the water temperature in a specific spot to keep them from approaching—very clever.”
“You told us we might be in water when we enter the gate, so I thought of this strategy beforehand. On the other hand, that idiot…”
Jo Min-ah’s face said there was much more she wanted to say but wouldn’t.
Jo Min-woo probably had some thoughts of his own.
They were just too shallow to be of any immediate use.
Still, just as Jo Min-woo had been confident, his physical abilities alone were enough to defeat the Sawshark. Before long, he had taken it down and flashed a V-sign.
“Min-ah.”
“Yes?”
“Does being underwater really mean you can’t use flames?”
“Of course not… right?”
“It would have been obvious. By conventional wisdom.”
I said no more on the matter.
To truly grow, one needs time to overcome challenges on their own.
Leaving the pondering Jo Min-ah behind, I drew upon the darkness and eliminated the remaining Sawsharks.
It was nice having a power that was rarely affected by elemental disadvantages.
“Let’s go. You’ll find the answer to the homework I just gave you soon enough.”
***
“You’re out already? How were you so fast?”
“Hah. You’ve already closed three of them. At this rate, closing all of them within the day will be a piece of cake.”
“We will finish this within the day.”
I took out a pouch that had been hanging from my waist.
Inside were three horns, each one different.
They were loot from the Hydras that had been serving as the bosses in the gates.
Kim Hyo-jong, showing little interest, simply nodded and turned his eyes to another gate.
“The remaining four will be tough, honestly. You said there’s a time limit before the gates reactivate, right? With three already closed, that interval has been nearly halved. If we happen to run into a maze-type gate, it could be dangerous.”
“I agree. How about we go in with you from now on? We’re more used to it now, and it seems they can handle things here without us.”
I shook my head.
Entering all seven of these gates was insane.
If you exceeded the time limit, you would be instantly disintegrated into particles by a dimensional storm while still alive.
No matter how fast we proceeded, unless we encountered the boss right upon entry, there was no way we could make it in time by the sixth or seventh gate.
“Even if we somehow managed to close them all in time, I doubt it would solve anything.”
“What do you mean by that? Are there gates elsewhere, perhaps…?”
“Something like that, but different.”
I gave Jo Min-ah a look, and she nodded, creating a blue flame.
When she used it to roast the yellow-hued of the three horns, it turned to powder and scattered as if blown by the wind.
“It’s over there.”
“Is that an item with some kind of detection effect?”
“It finds the location of the real boss.”
“Hah. The real boss, you say.”
It was one of the three areas we had already cleared.
After confirming the powder was sticking to the empty space where a gate had been, I moved on to the next step.
I ground the red and blue horns into powder, mixed them well, and sprinkled the mixture directly onto the closed gate.
*Vwooom—!*
Then, the space that had been healing itself tore open again, quickly turning crimson.
“This is…!?”
“A Red Gate! So there was a separate way to meet the boss!”
“Ahem.”
“Why are *you* reacting like that, Jo Min-woo…?”
A Red Gate.
The passage to meet the true boss, Leviathan.
The momentary relief of having found the boss’s location was short-lived.
The faces of those who sensed the suffocating magic power erupting from it instantly turned deathly pale.